THE HUNT for the person who tested positive for the Brazil variant of coronavirus has been narrowed to the South East.

The Health Secretary said the search is now limited to 379 households, all within the area, which are being contacted one-by-one.

There have been six cases of the P1 coronavirus Brazilian variant found in the UK.

One case is yet to be identified after the person failed to complete their test registration card.

What has Matt Hancock said? 

The Argus: Matt Hancock tells MPs the search for the missing Brazilian variant case has narrowed down to the South EastMatt Hancock tells MPs the search for the missing Brazilian variant case has narrowed down to the South East

Matt Hancock told the House of Commons: “Our search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the South East of England and we’re contacting each one.

“We’re grateful that a number of potential cases have come forward following the call that we put out over the weekend."

"Our current vaccines have not yet been studied against this variant and we're working to understand what impact it might have, but we do know this variant has caused significant challenges in Brazil. 

"We are doing all we can to stop the spread of this new variant in the UK, to analyse its effects and develop an updated vaccine that works on all these variants of concern and protect the progress we have made as a nation."